Caution: Think twice before upgrading your laptop to Windows 10

[ukjim]

NOTE: At time of writing there are no Windows 10 drivers available from the Clevo website for Windows 10 !!!
The latest are still at Windows 8.1.

This means that my brand new laptop (Clevo P771ZM) which I immediately and naively upgraded to Windows 10 is unable to run things like the Clevo Control Center which is used to control various features like fan speed, and colours of backlit laptop keyboard, etc.

Unfortunately I have been installing all manner of software, so I am reticent to use the Downgrade to Windows 8.1 feature that Windows 10 provides (for only 1 month after activating Win 10).

I am told by PC Specialist , quote: "Unfortunately we are still waiting on Clevo to send us the updated Win10 drivers for our laptops, I would try uninstalling and re-installing the Windows 8.1 version as this should work, if it however does not we are expecting Windows 10 drivers before the end of the month [Aug 2015]. ...... It's just an estimate, if the technicians at Clevo had pulled their finger out there should of been drivers prior to release date, but as it will of been nearly a month after release by the end of August, they should of released some."

It would have been helpful to have been warned of this by PC Specialist!!!

EDIT/UPDATE (20/8/2015): Not sure exactly how but the Hotkeys and Control Center are now working on Win 10!!

I'm unsure whether this was because I attempted a re-install (of only the Hotkeys driver) using the Device Drivers & Utilities + Users Manual cdrom supplied with the laptop by PCSpecialist, or if Windows Update did something.
Start the CD, run the autorun menu, choose Install Drivers, then option 7 Install Hotkey AP.
(Windows also pops up a message about restarting the machine to turn off User Account Control, which I guess is being set by the install program.)

This has the Hotkeys software on it, but when I ran it there was some brief message about it failing to install correctly on Win 10.

Next time I did a reboot I noticed two new icons in sys tray: mouseover shows Flexikey and Hotkey 3.13.28.
Double-click Hotkey icon opens up Control Center within which you can access Gaming, then Flexikey, or just click the systray Flexikey icon.

Anyway in Control Panel>Programs&Features I can see Hotkey 3.13.28 is installed, so it must be the driver cdrom version (ie. not a Windows update).

And if I hit FN+Esc this also now brings up Control Center! Good.

So it seems like upgrading 8.1 to Win 10 doesn't register the program, or recognise it as a valid Win 10 driver?
But re-installing seems to force the issue.

So the Win 8.1 version is workable on Win 10, but it will be interesting to see if when the pucker Win 10 drivers are available whether Hotkeys version has changed at all!.

Beware when you Exit the Device Drivers & Utilities installer it turns UAC back on and very rudely reboots your machine!!!

I am cautious about re-installing all the various drivers available on the CD without further advice, or at least until the Win 10 versions are released.

 

[micgup]

Poor isn't it! Its something that fortunately I've resisted with my P771ZM. But even tho PCS are off the ball, it would appear other Clevo resellers are not.
Mysn have got all the 10 drivers for the P771zm on their website. I haven't tried them so can't comment, but hope it gets you sorted:


Mick

 

[Stephen M]

Clevo still do not have Win10 drivers on their site, so would be interesting to know where those came from.

 

[finaldj]

Has anyone got their sound blaster cinema working I have tried a few work around on google but still not got it to work. I read that it might not be getting supported in windows 10

 

[ubuysa]

Yep, I've just spent a week or three uncovering an issue with my (Clevo based) Optimus IV. I took a disk image of my working Windows 8.1 system before my first Windows 10 upgrade attempt, so falling back is an easy process. I would encourage others experimenting with Windows 10 to do the same.

On my Optimus IV the key missing driver is the Hotkey driver and that can only come from Clevo. Without it there are likely to be lots of niggly issues and stuff not working. We have little choice but to wait. I think end of the month is an ambitious target, I'm hoping that we'll get Windows 10 drivers from Clevo by the end of the year.

Do please visit my thread on this at https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?43697-Windows-10-install-experiences&p=334435 and vote. I think we're building up an interesting picture there of people's Windows 10 install experiences.......

 

[dogbot]

I used the W8.1 Hotkey driver and have not seen any problems with it. Mainly needed to use it for keyboard backlight colour and desktop background where I now have a panoramic scene across both monitors.

 

[micgup]

Taking a disc image is fine, but I think I've read that you only have a month to revert back to 8.1. After that time has elapsed your 8.1 key becomes a permanent Windows 10 key. Which I should imagine will invalidate/unregister your backup image when you restore the image?

Mick

 

[Andythescientist]

these also have some win10 drivers including Hotkey for what i believe is the same chassis as the defiance. I've not tried them though so....

http://www.eurocom.com/ec/drivers(257)ec

 

[Carlosis]

I just ordered a Defiance laptop with W10 as the chosen OS. I'm beginning to think i should revert it back to 8.1? i guess i have the option to upgrade in the future. I recently went from 8 to 10 on my current laptop and it's been fine until a few days, now it's grinding to a halt at boot up.

 

[ubuysa]

Taking a disc image is fine, but I think I've read that you only have a month to revert back to 8.1. After that time has elapsed your 8.1 key becomes a permanent Windows 10 key. Which I should imagine will invalidate/unregister your backup image when you restore the image?

Mick

I've already gone back to Windows 8.1. I would suggest that everyone with a Clevo based laptop considers doing the same thing, at least until Clevo sort out the drivers.

A disk image is an immeasurably safer way of reverting than trying to us the Windows upgrade tool.

 

[Stephen M]

I would agree with that, although some drivers have appeared on other sites, there are none on the Clevo site but on another part they stress to not use unofficial Clevo sites.

 

[dogbot]

Taking a disc image is fine, but I think I've read that you only have a month to revert back to 8.1. After that time has elapsed your 8.1 key becomes a permanent Windows 10 key. Which I should imagine will invalidate/unregister your backup image when you restore the image?

Mick

During the upgrade, the W8.1 files are kept in a Windows.OLD folder. As I understand it, that folder is now automatically deleted after 30 days. After this time it will be no longer possible to roll back to W8.1.

 

[ubuysa]

During the upgrade, the W8.1 files are kept in a Windows.OLD folder. As I understand it, that folder is now automatically deleted after 30 days. After this time it will be no longer possible to roll back to W8.1.

Indeed, see http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-10/help-upgrade-windows-10. In answer to the question "Can I go back to my old operating system?" they say:

[FONT=WOL_Reg]Yes, there are a few different ways in which you can go back from [/FONT][FONT=WOL_Reg]Windows 10[/FONT][FONT=WOL_Reg] to a previous version of Windows:[/FONT]

• If it's been less than a month since you upgraded to Windows 10, you'll be able to go back to your previous version of Windows from [FONT=WOL_Bold]Settings[/FONT] > [FONT=WOL_Bold]Update & security[/FONT] > [FONT=WOL_Bold]Recovery[/FONT].
  
• If your PC manufacturer provided the option, you might be able to restore your device to factory settings.
  
• If options to go back and restore factory settings aren’t available, you can use installation media and a product key to install a previous version of Windows.

[FONT=WOL_Reg]For more information and requirements, see the go back to a previous version of Windows section of Recovery options in Windows 10.

[/FONT]
So as you say dogbot, it's the deletion of Windows.old that's done after 30 days, it's not a product key issue. I have reverted back to Windows 8.1 (from a saved disk image of course) and I'll wait for Clevo to produce drivers and then have another test of Windows 10.

 

[ubuysa]

I would agree with that, although some drivers have appeared on other sites, there are none on the Clevo site but on another part they stress to not use unofficial Clevo sites.

Yes, but the key one for most (all?) Clevo laptops is the Hotkey driver, I'm pretty sure it's the lack of that that's causing my issue and only Clevo can supply that. The chipset driver is another we really need from Clevo, though available elsewhere they are for for "standard" chipsets and may not be right for the Clevo chassis.

Although I like the UI of Windows 10 there is nothing in there that I desperately need so I'm playing safe and waiting for Clevo drivers. I recommend other Clevo users to consider waiting also, but if you can't be sure you take very regular backups of your user data just in case......

 

[Andythescientist]

the site i linked has what it claims is a win10 hotkey driver. It's version 5 of the driver. The win7 version i have on my defiance is v3 so it makes sense that it is indeed the win10 version? maybe worth a try.

 

[Pagey]

Iirc the Hotkey drivers are coded specifically for the laptop chassis they will run on... Some Clevo laptops have different features, so not sure if installing the Defiance one onto an Optimus IV would work.

 

[dogbot]

[/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR]
So as you say dogbot, it's the deletion of Windows.old that's done after 30 days, it's not a product key issue. I have reverted back to Windows 8.1 (from a saved disk image of course) and I'll wait for Clevo to produce drivers and then have another test of Windows 10.

None of that worries me. I now have 2 permanently activated clean installations of W10 Pro, neither of which has seen another OS. One has a local account and is locked down with a minimum going back to Microsoft. This is being used the same as I use W7 and receives updates just like everyone else. The other has a Microsoft account and has been switched back into the Insider program. Meanwhile Windows 7 Home Premium is still untouched and activated.
Over the past few months, W10 has developed into something which is at least useable but I still have some reservations. Mine has been relatively trouble free but I guess it is down to how you use it and on what hardware. I also don't use apps or share my life with the world. I don't know what you have but I have had coloured titlebars and borders for some time. https://app.box.com/s/p3fj5tu3nyiv4pu9adkaq4gz3dwbd4a7 Apparently this is now standard in the next insider drop although not installed it yet.

 

[ubuysa]

Iirc the Hotkey drivers are coded specifically for the laptop chassis they will run on... Some Clevo laptops have different features, so not sure if installing the Defiance one onto an Optimus IV would work.

Not only that but (IMO of course) installing drivers, or any other software, from a site you don't absolutely trust is asking for trouble. The only two places I ever get drivers from is either the vendor (Clevo and/or PCS in this case) or the manufacturer of the hardware (Intel, Realtek, NVIDIA etc.).

 

[Andythescientist]

Check your download center, alot of the win10 drivers appeared today for my defiance. Just no hotkey yet.

Chassis: Defiance Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)

1: 01_Chipset_W10.zip (20-08-2015 | 2.68mb)
2: 01_WLAN_Optional_W10.zip (20-08-2015 | 938.09mb)
3: 02_IRST_Optional_W10.zip (20-08-2015 | 11.41mb)
4: 02_VGA_W10.zip (20-08-2015 | 833.89mb)
5: 03_LAN_W10.zip (20-08-2015 | 12.45mb)
6: 03_SBX_Optional_W10.zip (20-08-2015 | 293.44mb)
7: 04_Cardreader_W10.zip (20-08-2015 | 9.11mb)
8: 04_Finger_Optional_W10.zip (20-08-2015 | 47.59mb)
9: 05_Touchpad_W10.zip (20-08-2015 | 54.37mb)
10: 06_ControlCenter_W10.zip (20-08-2015 | 201.95mb)
11: 07_AirplaneMode_W10.zip (20-08-2015 | 3.78mb)
12: 08_MEI_W10.zip (20-08-2015 | 21.02mb)
13: 09_Audio_W10.zip (20-08-2015 | 279.21mb)

 

[malc]

i had a PC Specialist Optimus VI V17-960 GT Gaming Laptop delivered wednesday 19th august from ebuyer and it has windows 10 on it and the only problem i had was with sound blaster cinema 2 although the splash screen comes up when i got into win 10 , i couldn't use it as it would not load ... i looked in the downloads yesterday and found a driver waiting to be downloaded among others . i used all the applicable downloads on my new laptop including fkey etc and all is ok now